Gabriel Stone, A New Hero
by The Dreadknight
Summary: When 15 year old Gabriel Stone's rival and his crush go on a Pokemon journey, Gabriel is thrown into his own. He is determined to reach the top, beat the bad guy(his rival) and get the girl. The Pokemon he collects along the way however, all have their own personal goals, some of which coincide with their trainer's, while some conflict with Gabriel's own.
1. Chapter 1: Gabriel Stone

Gabriel Stone was a fifteen year old living in Viridian City. He has very tall for his age, hitting six feet and two inches. It wasn't surprising though, as his father Fredrick was a giant, standing at six foot seven. His mother Heather on the other hand was slightly shorter than average, standing at five feet even. Gabriel had jet black hair like his mother, while his father was a blondie.

Gabriel was asleep against a tree in a forest beyond the edges of Viridian. He had a PDA in his lap which was streaming a battle going on between the champion of the Pokémon league from Sinnoh and the champion from Johto. The match was intense, and it was down to both of the champions last Pokémon, a Zangoose for the Johto champ, and a Hitmontop for the Sinnoh champ.

Yet Gabriel had been up for two whole days with no sleep watching matches to learn battle strategies. This match was the one he had wanted to watch most, yet he was simply too tired to stay awake.

Next to him slept his Cyndaquil. He had gotten an egg on his eleventh birthday and after three months it hatched into a Cyndaquil. Gabriel had never been happier in his life. The two didn't really battle much until Gabriel turned fifteen, which is when he seriously began considering going on a Pokémon journey.

If one were to go deeper into the forest Gabriel was in they would find dozens of burnt out trees from when Gabriel was training with his Cyndaquil. Gabriel knew that his Cyndaquil was good, yet unknown to him it had a wickedly very high sp. attack stat, and its nature was made for sp. attack at the cost of defense.

"Alright Roselia… vine whip," a feminine voice said.

Suddenly four vines wrapped themselves around Gabriel and he instantly woke. "Huh? What's happening? Who's there?"

He got no response, and he couldn't even see where the vines were coming from due to a blurry vision from just waking up. "I swear if you don't show yourself! Cyndaquil get up and find it!"

Cyndaquil jumped into action, yet it didn't need to, as a girl the same age as Gabriel walked into view.

"Nicole… really? Tell your Roselia to let me go…"

"Fine, alright Roselia, let him go," as she said that the vines suddenly retracted and the Roselia hopped into view, only to be recalled a few moments later.

In Gabriel's eyes, Nicole Jackson was gorgeous. She was five foot two inches, had long, flawless, brown hair, and beautiful green eyes.

He'd had a crush on her since the Jackson family first moved to Viridian city when Gabriel was seven. He had thought he had met an angel that day.

He also thought he had met a devil.

Anthony Jackson walked up to Gabriel not long after Nicole did. He was five foot six, and had the same eyes and hair color as Nicole.

"Slacking off again Gabriel?"

"Ugh… Anthony… Hey…"

"What are you doing out here in the forest alone?" Nicole asked.

"I could ask you the same thing… not including the alone part…"

"Searching for you."

"Why would you ever care about where I am?"

"We want to know because we're starting our Pokémon journey tomorrow," Anthony said.

"You… you are? Well, have fun…"

"We want to know if you can come with us."

"Huh? Anthony… you really want me to come with you?"

"Hey, we might not like each other, but I could always use a rival to keep me on my toes. You could be useful…"

"Oh, so you just see me as a tool for your success."

"Basically," he grinned at him.

"Uhh…" Gabriel looked down at his Cyndaquil, and the flame on its back went off like he wanted Gabriel to accept, "Alright."

"Good, let's have a battle right now then."

"Now? As in right now?"

"What other now is there? God Gabriel, you always were slow…"

Nicole got out of the way and sat next to a tree to watch the coming battle. Gabriel's Cyndaquil jumped forward, ready and eager to fight.

"Well… this should be quite easy. Go, Tentacool!"

"Great, he had to use his Tentacool… why couldn't he use his Machop or Houndour instead?" Gabriel thought to himself.

Tentacool was Anthony's first, and favorite Pokémon. Not to mention his strongest. It was massive, three times the size of a normal one.

Yet that meant it was slow, and besides it was on land, so how could it move quickly?

"Tentacool, bubble!"

"Cyndaquil, jump up and use swift," Tentacool appeared to spit bubbly water at Cyndaquil, yet he jumped up just in time and released dozens of small yellow stars from its mouth.

Tentacool, stuck on land and being slow as a result, was completely unable to dodge the attack, taking it head on.

Yet the Tentacool wasn't done, "Bubble again!" Anthony yelled out to it.

"Quick attack Cyndaquil!"

Cyndaquil began charging right towards Tentacool at very high speeds, yet before he could hit it Anthony yelled, "Bubble beam!"

Cyndaquil was moving too fast to stop, and was hit directly by the bubble beam, being send back and smashing into a tree.

"Cyndaquil, are you alright?"

Cyndaquil pulled itself up and the fire on its back lit again, "Nice… alright, let's play this smarter…"

His Cyndaquil looked at him and nodded its head before looking back at the Tentacool, "Constrict!" Anthony yelled.

The Tentacool used its strong tentacles to jump itself forward at amazing speed right at Cyndaquil.

"Alright, smoke screen!" Cyndaquil let out a large amount of smoke, obstructing Tentacool's vision, and preventing it from hitting Cyndaquil, "Now, flamethrower!"

Tentacool went flying out of the smoke cloud after being hit by the flame thrower, and it landed on the ground next to Anthony. It got up after a few moments however, still able to battle.

"Alright, shoot your bubble beam into the smoke cloud!"

"Cyndaquil, use flamethrower to propel yourself off the ground!"

Cyndaquil went flying into the air and soon was above the tree line, "Now, flamethrower one more time!"

"Tentacool, shoot it quick!" Tentacool looked up at Cyndaquil fast and let loose its bubbles, yet they missed by a hair.

Cyndaquil however, did not miss. His flamethrower hit Tentacool directly, dealing a critical hit.

Tentacool went flying back into a tree, and Gabriel gave one final order to Cyndaquil, "Quick Attack!"

Cyndaquil landed on the ground and rammed right into Tentacool as it stood up, sending it right back into the tree, yet this time it didn't get back up.

"Well Anthony… I think I win," Gabriel said.

"Wha… what? No! Get up Tentacool! We're not losing to this kid!"

"Anthony, Tentacool lost. You lost…"

Anthony sighed and recalled his Tentacool, "Fine. Come on sis, we're going home. Gonna leave Gabriel to think about if he wants to come with us or not."

The two walked off leaving Gabriel with a feeling of accomplishment. He had won his first battle, and against Anthony no less…

He looked down to his Cyndaquil and said, "So… you wanna go on a journey to become the best?"

.

"Well… let's just hope mom and dad say yes… especially considering how short notice it will be…" he sighed thinking about that. They would probably say no…

"Really? You're going to let me go with them?" Gabriel was astonished.

"Yes. I've actually been waiting for you to want to go on a Pokémon journey," his father replied.

"I still don't like it," His mother snapped.

"Mom… this is something I really wanna do though! Come on… don't ruin it for me…" Gabriel said, trying to guilt her.

"I know… and fine… just call us every day… I want to know where my baby is, do you understand?"

"How bout every week instead?"

"Honestly Heather, every day is a bit much. I didn't speak to my parents for months."

"How far did you even get? Only four lousy badges. I could have done better than that!"

"You quit before the first gym because you didn't like not sleeping in a house when we were traveling."

"Yeah well… I could gotten farther…"

"Dad…" Gabriel interrupted.

"What son?"

"Why did you quit?"

"Well… once I got my fourth badge and went to the fifth gym I just… couldn't win… I told myself if I lost to a gym three times in a row I was done, and I lost not just three, but five times in a row. I didn't want to quit after I got so far… but it just wasn't working out for me."

"Well… I'll make sure I don't end up like you."

"Make it all the way to the Indigo League, and win it for me."

"I promise you, I will…"

"Don't make promises you can't keep. Trust me… this is harder than many think it is. I thought it would be easy… and it wasn't…"

"Don't worry dad, I'll be fine. I got Cyndaquil with me after all…"

Gabriel's mother crouched down and looked at Cyndaquil saying, "Now you better take care of my son Cyndaquil, or else."

Cyndaquil nodded and soon Gabriel's mother stood up and took Gabriel's backpack off the table and handed it to him, "It's got clean clothes for seven days, a sleeping bag, tarp, a map of Kanto, food for a week and a phone."

"Thanks mom…"

"And here son," Gabriel's father handed him a bag, which was filled with four normal Pokéballs and a Great Ball. The Great Ball is in case you run into something tough. I couldn't afford an Ultra Ball… sorry about that…"

"It's alright dad, it's all I need."

"Well, to sign up for the Pokémon League you need to first go to Professor Oak in Pallet Town. He'll give you a Pokédex and you can use that at the Pokémon Center to register. After that the nearest open gym is in Pewter City. We have one here in Viridian… but it's closed for some reason…"

"Thanks for the tip, I'll be on my way then…" Gabriel recalled Cyndaquil into his Pokéball and hooked all six onto his belt. He took a breath before opening, and walking out the door.

It was time for a Pokémon adventure.

* * *

**Hi guys. Some of you might be wondering, "How does Cyndaquil already know Flamethrower and Swift". Well, in the anime Ash's Cyndaquil was capable of using both moves, so I thought, "Why not?".**


	2. Chapter 2:Things that Creep in the Night

15 year old Gabriel Stone has set out on his Pokémon journey. Travelling with his companions Anthony and Nicole Jackson they head south for Pallet Town to meet Professor Oak and receive their Pokédex. With their Pokédex in hand they will be able to register for the Pokémon League for the Kanto Region.

Honestly… he really didn't like travelling with Anthony.  
They were walking southward all day long and Anthony was such a pain, "Hey Gabriel, when you lose at a gym, we're not gonna stop for you. Got it?"

"I know, same goes for you two…"

"Like ever, I'm never going to lose, I'm winning every battle!"

"You mean like you did yesterday?"

"Shut up Gabriel, you just got lucky."

"Hey, that's one to zero. I'm starting off this rivalry on a good note."

"Just wait until it's one hundred to one!"

"Wanna go right now then?"

"Both of you shut up!" Nicole exclaimed, clearly annoyed at the argument, "Good lord, you two are almost as bad as girls are…"

"Nicole, don't ever tell me to shut up again," Anthony snapped.

"Oh? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Wanna play Mercy then?"

Gabriel noticed that Nicole actually seemed to have a slight hint of fear, "Uhh… no… sorry…"

"Really Anthony? Having to beat up your sister because you're mad? What kind of man hits a woman?"

"Shut up Gabriel, you're an only child, so you don't know what it's like."

"Some wimp you are Anthony, making yourself feel better by having to beat up your sister."

"Shut up Gabriel!" Anthony started walking fast to get ahead of the group while Gabriel just laughed at him.

"Thanks… but he's probably going to take his anger out on me later anyways…"

"Why are we travelling with him anyways? We could go out, just you and me."

"Parents… they really want us together. They say the world is too dangerous for a pretty girl like me to go out alone."

"You wouldn't be alone. You got me."

"And you aren't more dangerous than some random stranger?" she teased.

"What? I thought you trusted me…"

"A bad boy like you would could do anything."

"Aww, I'm heartbroken that you think I'm like that."

"Oh don't worry, you can still be within ten feet of me… just not five," she smiled and began trying to catch up with Anthony.

Gabriel could tell this was going to be a long journey…

Oh well, it probably wouldn't be that bad.

They weren't able to make it to Pallet in a day, yet they were close, maybe four hours out when they start to go again in the morning. Anthony fell asleep and slept like a Snorlax, yet Nicole was unable to sleep.

"Problem?" Gabriel asked.

"I don't know… I just feel… different now…" Nicole replied.

"Good or bad different?"

"I'm not sure… I feel like we're going to be thrown onto some merry-go-round emotionally…"

"Uhh… where's that coming from?"

"I don't know…"

"Your stomach?"

"Oh shut up. It's just an odd feeling."

"Well it can't be that bad, you might just be hungry."

"It's not my stomach Gabriel," she said getting annoyed.

"No need for hostility, just trying to have a few laughs…"

"I… just don't feel like laughter is good for how I feel…"

"Don't tell me you're quitting already…"

"Oh no, never in a million years. I'm pushing through this to the end. I'm not going to be a quitter. Nicole Jackson is not going to fail, I assure you on that one."

"Well Miss Jackson, we should get some sleep… I mean, you don't want to meet Professor Oak tired do you?"

"I suppose you're right… alright, I'll try to sleep…"

* * *

Gabriel woke to the sound of eating. He opened his eyes and saw a Rattata going through Anthony's bag.

Gabriel threw a rock at it and said, "Get outta here…" with a rather drowsy voice due to having just woke up.

The Rattata looked at him and then jumped on his face and began attacking him.

"Agh! Get off me you rodent!" he threw it off him and reached towards the Pokéballs next to his bag, yet the Rattata jumped forward and bit his hand.

Gabriel picked it up and threw it at a tree, yet it missed the tree and landed on its feet.

Gabriel took the opportunity to grab Cyndaquil's Pokéball and released him, "Alright, use flamethrower on that pest!"

Yet Cyndaquil was confused. Use flamethrower on what pest? It looked around and saw nothing.

Gabriel sighed when he looked and saw the Rattata was gone. "Well, Anthony is gonna think I stole his food…" he recalled Cyndaquil and tried his best to make Anthony's bag look like it wasn't torn through so that he might not notice, "Worth a shot…" Gabriel said to himself.

It didn't take long for Anthony to wake up. Pulling himself up he said, "Oh… you're not something I like seeing first thing in the morning Gabriel…" he said.

"Nice to see you two Anthony…"

"Nicole is rarely still asleep when I wake up…. Did you two… do anything last night?"

"We talked, that's it."

"Just gonna say, don't even think about trying to date my sister."

"Who said I wanted to?"

"I just wanna make it clear, so that this trip is as smooth as possible."

"Look Anthony…"

"What?"

"I don't think this is going to work out…"

"What? You're gonna quit?"

"No… I think… after we get to Professor Oak's lab we split up. You two stay together… but I wanna go out on my own."

"Really? You think you can survive in the world on your own?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I think I can survive on my own better than I can with others. They'll just… get in the way…" Gabriel grinned.

"Nice to know you think we're useless Gabriel…" Nicole said, stretching and sitting up, looking at the two.

"Well, I didn't mean useless."

"Oh don't worry, I get it," she got out of her sleeping bag, "Hurry up and pack, we're moving."

"No breakfast?" Gabriel asked.

"You wanted to go on your own, so we might as well hurry up, for your sake."

"O.K. You're milking this a little too much."

"Am I?"

"And you're getting mad over one simple little comment?"

"You know Anthony didn't want you to come. I had to bargain with him to have him say you can join us. Now you just decide to go off on your own, so thank you for messing it up."

"Why would you even care if I came with you or not?"

"You're a friend, and you have been since me and my family moved here," she was rolling up her sleeping bag as she talked and once rolled up she put it into its bag and attached it to her backpack before walking off along the trail towards Pallet.

"Gabriel, she's mad. Really mad."

"Oh, how can you tell?" Gabriel said sarcastically.

"When she simply walks off without trying to argue for half an hour it means she is infuriated and thinks it isn't worth her time."

"Why would she get so upset over me not wanting to travel with you guys?"

"Gabriel, are you blind? Everyone, including everyone at school knows she's into you. Why do you think I hated you two being near each other? I didn't want a loser like you dating my sister… honestly I don't even know what she saw in you."

With that Anthony began walking off to catch up with his sister. Gabriel stood there feeling like a total moron.

Oh well, if he did like him she would get over it. Gabriel packed his bag and quickly ran to catch up with the other two.

It didn't take them much longer to reach Pallet. Nicole was moving fast due to being mad at Gabriel, so he and Anthony had to move fast to keep up.

Gabriel looked down at the town as they were going down a hill towards it. It wasn't very impressive, just a bunch of scattered houses and trees. The largest building, Gabriel figured out easily, was Professor Oak's lab.

They walked through town, remembering where they saw the lab from on top of the hill they easily make their way through the streets and after only a few minutes are standing in front of the lab.

Anthony rang the doorbell and after a few moments the door opened and Oak stood there. He looked at the three and said, "Good evening, might I ask who you are?"

"Hello Oak… I'm Anthony, I'm the one who you talked to on the phone. This is my sister Nicole, and Gabriel."

"Oh yes Anthony I remember… come in you three," Oak turned and walked back into his house and the trio followed."

"I sent off a group of trainers just a month ago so I don't have the starter Pokémon for you three. But yet you already have Pokémon, am I correct?"

"Yes," the three said in unison.

"Then all I need to do is give you your Pokédex and you three can be on your way," he went over two a table and grabbed three small red devices off it and walked over to the trio, handing one to each, "Now then, I expect great things from you three. You're older than most who start their journey, hopefully that means more mature, and smarter…"

"I'm not sure about these two, but I'll make it to the top," Anthony said.

"You mean second to the top? I'll be the best…" Gabriel said.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up that high. It's a lot more difficult than some make it out to be… It's easier to become a millionaire than win the Pokémon League. But you three should be off, as I said before you're a month behind my last batch. If you see any of the along the way be sure to greet them."

Oak seemed to rush them to the door and when they were out the door quickly shut.

"Is it me or did it seem like he wanted us out?" Nicole asked.

"I think he did. He's an old man, who knows what's going through his head…" Gabriel replied.

"Well then, Gabriel, you should be on your way then. You need the head start to keep up with us, cause we're not losing," Anthony said.

"Yeah… alright I guess…" he began walking off, taking a look back at the two. He noticed a sad look on Nicole's face and then he looked forward again.

How could he have been so stupid to not see that she liked him? He wanted to hit himself, yet it wouldn't do any good.

Oh well, he'll probably run into them again eventually. He'll win her to his side then. Win the League for her, and be known as the best there ever was…

* * *

Gabriel continued back up north to Viridian City. He made it most of the way there in a day and on the second day he finally made it.

However after walking nonstop for three whole days he really wanted a break.

Of course he was in Viridian City, his hometown. He could always spend the night at his own house…

But his father… his first though would be "My son quit already…" and Gabriel didn't want that. Besides, he would have to stay a Pokémon Centers a lot eventually, so he might as well get used to it.

He went to the Pokémon center and walked up to Nurse Joy who said, "Good evening! Do you need your Pokémon to be healed?"

"No he's fine… but if I'm correct this is where I sign up for the Pokémon League?"

"Oh, why yes it is. I just need your Pokédex and I can register you!"

Gabriel fished through his pockets and pulled it out, handing it to her and saying, "Here you go Ma'am."

"Thank you, this will only take a minute."

Gabriel had registered it to him the day before while on the walk to Viridian. It hadn't been difficult.

He watched Nurse Joy plug it into her computer and after a few moments she unplugged it and handed it back to him, "You're all set."

"This place has rooms for trainers, right?"

"Yes, let me get you a key," she went under the desk and pulled out a key which had a 12 on it, "It's down the hallway on the right."

"Thank you," he took the key and walked down the hall and went into the room. It had four beds and a desk with a lamp on it.

He looked at one bed and saw a lump under the covers. Apparently the rooms were shared. But Gabriel couldn't complain. It was only for the night after all.

Yet put his bag next to a bed and took off his shoes, yet this was all it took for the other person to wake up.

He sat up quickly and looked at Gabriel with a panicked look, yet after a few seconds he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Oh… thank the heavens… I thought you were a ghost…"

"A ghost?"

"Yeah… this Pokémon Center is being harassed by a Ghost Pokémon… It's pretty bad too…"

"How so?"

"Things go bump in the night… the sheets get torn off you while you sleep… some people even get possessed…"

"And no one has tried to find it and stop it?"

"No one stays long enough to care… they sleep through it one night, and in the morning they're gone…"

"Then why do you care? You're gone in the morning."

"I'm not… I'm staying here for a few days to let my friend from Pallet catch up to me."

"Well… have fun waiting then. I'm going to sleep," he looked at his watch which read 10:17. He got under the covers and rested his head on the pillow and tried to sleep.

"Yes… you sleep tight… hopefully the Ghost doesn't get you…"

"Shut it, it won't mess with me."

* * *

Gabriel could not have been more wrong. He woke to a crash in the night. He got up and turned on the light to find the lamp on the desk had fallen off. Then the lights suddenly cut off and Gabriel panicked.

Yet he regained his composure and grabbed Cyndaquil's Pokéball from his bag and let him out. The flame on his back lit the room, yet in a creepily eerie way.

Gabriel looked at the boy from earlier, yet somehow he was sound asleep. "Heavy sleeper maybe…"

Suddenly the bunk bed that Gabriel had been sleeping in fell over, an Gabriel and Cyndaquil narrowly dodged it.

"Woah, this thing is real!"

He began thinking he was a moron for thinking it was a hoax. Ghost Pokémon were quite real. But what was one doing in Viridian?

Suddenly Cyndaquil got hit in the back by some dark beam attack which sent him into a wall.

"Cyndaquil! Get up and shoot a flamethrower in every direction!"

Gabriel fell to the ground to avoid the flames, and they truly went everywhere. The beds caught on fire, and soon the Ghost was revealed by the flames.

It was a Gastly. Oh Gabriel should have known… they were always getting into trouble.

"Use Flamethrower on it Cyndaquil!"

Cyndaquil shot the flames at it, and it didn't bother dodging and took the hit.

Suddenly the other person jumped up and said, "You got it!"

"Alright Cyndaquil, use Ember on that thing!"

It was hit directly by the Ember, and was apparently knocked out by the hit.

"Yeah… I guess I did get it…"

"Gastly return!" the boy said, recalling the Gastly into his Pokéball.

"Wait a second… that Gastly was yours the whole time?"

"Yep."

"You let it freak me out and made me burn this room down?"

Gabriel suddenly realized that he was in a burning room, yet the boy released a Squirtle which used water gun to put out the flames.

"But… why?"

"To mess with you. Here," he handed Gabriel the Pokéball Gastly was in, "For being a good sport. I have plenty of others just like that one anyways. So please, keep it."

Gabriel took the ball and looked it over in case it was another "joke", and sure enough it wasn't.

"Well… thanks I guess, but you still ruined my bed…"

"Was it worth it though? To get a Gastly?"

Gabriel thought about it for a few seconds and said, "I suppose it was."

"Besides, you can take my bed, now that my work is done I can finally leave…"

"What about your friend form Pallet?"

"That was made up. But have fun with that Gastly! He's a tricky one!" he said walking out of the room and down the hall.

Gabriel took another look at the Pokéball and then hooked it to his belt and recalled Cyndaquil. He crawled into the other bed and fell asleep.

* * *

"Alright Gastly, Night Shade!" Gabriel yelled.

The Weedle was hit directly and beat by the Night Shade. Its trainer recalled it and paid Gabriel his winnings and ran off upset that he lost.

Poor kid, Gabriel almost felt bad for him. Yet he was the fourth today, his Gastly and Cyndaquil had smashed through the competition so far.

He had to admit, that prank got him off to a great start.

* * *

**Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay, but I don't work on stories during the week due to school. Expect most posts to be on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays(I might on rare occasions post during the week if I have free time). Also, I'm a slow writer and get distracted quite a bit, which delays my writing. Hope you don't mind. I'll try to post at least one chapter a week, potentially more.**


	3. Chapter 3: A Cold Blooded Rivalry

Gabriel Stone worked his way along the road northward from Viridian City. He had checked out the Gym in the City, yet for some reason it was closed. When he had read it the sign simply said, "Closed for maintenance". Yet from what Gabriel could see the building was fine. Of course the interior might not have been.

Oh well, he would come back to it later. Kanto worked like a circle, follow the path and eventually you'll go through all the gyms and wind up back at Viridian City.

That meant Pewter City was the first gym. It was full of Rock types from what Gabriel had heard. That was lovely… His Cyndaquil was going to have a rough time…

His Gastly however… that was another story. It was a very powerful Gastly. He knew his Cyndaquil was stronger than it, but it lacked the types that Gastly had.

Yeah, he would be fine, he was sure of it.

He'd battled a total of seven trainers and only lost to one of them. That kid had thrown out an Alakazam and its high level swept the floor with Gabriel. He wondered why someone with such a high leveled Pokémon would be out here… it definitely confused him.

It wasn't important though, it was the past, and Gabriel had to keep moving forward.

His got lost in his thoughts, not noticing the forest getting denser and denser as he continued northward. At least, not until he hit something that was up to his pelvis area.

He came back to reality and looked down at what hit him. It was a sign which read "Now Entering Viridian Forest".

He'd already reached Viridian Forest? How long had he been walking? It had seemed like only a few minutes to him…

Oh well, it was convenient for him. Just continue along and he'll reach Pewter in no time at all.

He kept forward, trying not to make any wrong turns so that he ended up going in the wrong direction. You would think they would make a trail, yet of course they wouldn't. Why would they? That would make the trip easier for him, and lord forbid his trip be easy.

He hadn't seen any trainers oddly enough, yet he had run into countless wild Pokémon which he easily dispatched. None of them really appealed to him as he wasn't a big fan of bug Pokémon, he always thought them to be creepy. Not in a scary way, but a disgusting way.

Besides, what he really wanted to get was a Sandshrew. He had seen a Sandslash in an online video and was amazed at what it could do. He wanted to get his own and make it even stronger than the one he saw in that video.

Another thing he didn't want was any overlapping types. All the Weedles he found were part Poison type, and as such they shared a type with his Gastly. That wouldn't go well, so after seeing all the negatives he scratched the Bug type off his list.

Maybe a Dragon… he knew that was a very powerful type… He shrugged it off, he would catch as he goes, he wouldn't aim for anything specific other than the Sandshrew, he'd just keep tabs on types NOT to get…

He ran into one trainer along the way, but he was a bug maniac, so Cyndaquil swept the floor with him. The guys strongest Pokémon, a Beedrill, was the only one that put up a fight, yet still Cyndaquil handled it with ease.

This wasn't good training for the gym. He had heard the Gym Leader used Rock Types so Cyndaquil would suffer, yet training against opponents that he outmatched heavily in both level and type didn't help him in learning how to handle opponents who had advantages over him…

He was actually hoping to see Anthony again. Anthony's Tentacool would be a good opponent for Cyndaquil again…

He continued northward through the forest, getting ever closer to the Pewter City, battling all the wild Pokémon he could find so his Cyndaquil and Gastly could get stronger before the gym, yet he was stuck still. His Pokémon were too strong to benefit from the experience these Pokémon gave him…

He hadn't seen any more trainers either, which seriously confused him. He had thought there would be a much larger amount of bug fans hanging out in the forest…

He had a strange feeling though… like he was being watched… he couldn't shrug off the feeling, and caught himself looking over his shoulders countless times. How much longer until he got out of this forest? It seemed like it went on forever, and it was freaking him out.

He wasn't exactly scared, but worried he'd gotten lost and now was heading in the completely wrong direction…

Oh well, that was where the adventure was. Besides, this wouldn't be a fun trip if he just walked the circle of Kanto and didn't get lost a few times.

He continued in one direction, praying it was north. He climbed a tree to see if he could see anything, and of course all he could see were trees.

He climbed back down and sighed. He continued in his original direction, hoping that the trees would eventually end.

He came to a stop for the day after a few more hours. He set up camp, having Cyndaquil start a fire and cooking some food he bought back in Viridian.

So. His first night alone in the field. How bad could it be? If he was heading in the right direction then Pewter shouldn't be far ahead, and there rested his first badge.

It was a predominantly Rock type gym, so he knew Cyndaquil would have a rough time. He took out his PDA to look up tips but there was no signal where he was.

Oh well, he could check it when he reached Pewter, he was bound to get a signal when he got there…

He put his PDA up and got into his sleeping bag, hoping nothing would jump him while he was asleep.

Gabriel opened his eyes to the new day. Cyndaquil was asleep next to him, and the sun shined above the tree line.

He sat up and stretched, letting out a long yawn before scratching his head. He checked his bag to make sure nothing had gotten into it, and sure enough it was untouched.

Lucky him. He packed his stuff up and recalled Cyndaquil into his Pokéball. He put the ball on his waist and started out in the direction that, from what he could tell by the location of the sun in the sky, was north.

He headed in that direction, but it didn't take him long to hear a voice call his name from nearby.

He knew who it was the instant he heard his name. Masculine, a hint of arrogance, and a scent of uncaring hatred.

Yep, definitely Anthony Jackson. He'd already caught up to him? He must have slept too long… at least he now knew that he was heading in the right direction.

He heard his name get called again and he looked behind him to see Anthony and Nicole walking in his direction, "Hey Gabriel! What are the chances we would run into you here of all places?"

"Slim to none," Gabriel replied. Just his luck, he had to run into Anthony of all people. He looked over to Nicole and saw she was still upset with him and avoided eye contact with him completely.

Gabriel gave a mental sigh, but he was certain she would come back around… "You heading to Pewter?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah," Anthony replied.

"So that means I am heading in the right direction?"

"What, got lost already?"

"Apparently not otherwise I wouldn't have run into you guys. Unless you're lost too."

"No, we're on the right track."

"Well… umm… can I… stick with you guys until we get out of this forest? I seriously don't want to get lost…"

"Oh? So now you want to travel with us?" Nicole snapped.

"Well, just temporarily," Gabriel regretted that the instant he said it.

"Oh, so we're just tools for your comfort."

"I never said that."

"Yeah but you were thinking it."

"Look, I want, no, need to do this on my own. Sure I might need a bit of help at times, but… this is my thing."

"And if it weren't for me then you would have never started this 'thing'."

Gabriel could tell this was getting nowhere. "Come on, I'll never ask for this again. It's just… this forest…"

"What? Are you scared Gabriel? It's just a bunch of trees," Anthony said, finally waking up.

"No. I just… don't wanna get lost…"

"Battle me, and then sure… you can join us."

"Do I need to win?"

"Depends, how many Pokémon do you have? Still one?"

"Two…"

"Oh… impressive. Alright, beat at least one of my Pokémon and you can join."

"Alright, your move Anthony…"

"Alright, go Houndour!"

"Oh, I knew this one was coming," Gabriel grinned, he had to think this through, Houndour was part Dark type, so it would have an advantage over Gastly… and he was banking on Anthony having Tentacool be his second choice, so he might as well use Cyndaquil now…

"Alright, Cyndaquil, let's do this," he released his Cyndaquil and the flames on his back instantly lit, "Swift attack!"

"Houndour… take it and then Flame Thrower!" the Swift attack hit Houndour, causing it to shut its eyes in pain, yet the instant it stopped it shot its flamethrower directly at Gabriel.

"Stop it with your own Flamethrower!" Gabriel yelled to Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil fired at the last possible moment, and actually seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the flamethrower war, which was due to its higher level and higher stats compared to Houndour.

"Houndour, charge and use bite!" Houndour broke the flamethrower, and got hit by Cyndaquil's yet despite doing a bit of damage this did not stop Houndour from jumping at Cyndaquil.

"Smokescreen!" Gabriel yelled to Cyndaquil, who instantly obeyed.

Cyndaquil then jumped out of the way and Houndour was none the wiser, landing right in front of where Cyndaquil used to be and biting thin air.

"Swift again!"

Houndour was blasted from the side by the Swift, and Gabriel yelled, "Jump over it and flamethrower!"

"Wait!" Anthony called out, "Houndour surrenders…" he recalled his Pokémon.

"Oh, so I guess I win, and I get to go with you two after all…" Gabriel grinned and was about to recall Cyndaquil.

"Yeah, but this isn't over, this is a 2v2."

"Cyndaquil, return," he held out Cyndaquil's Pokéball and recalled him saying, "I might use him if this guy loses, but that won't happen."

"Yeah, just press your luck Gabriel, try me. Alright, take this home Tentacool!"

Gabriel watched Tentacool be released and he said, "Alright, let's end this Gastly…" he didn't put any effort into saying it, and he simply dropped the Pokéball and Gastly was released.

"Bubble Beam!"

"Night Shade."

The two attacks collided, and Gabriel realized Tentacool was stronger than Gastly, as the Bubble Beam quickly began to overcome the Night Shade.

"Gastly, move and use Hypnosis!"

"Tentacool, look away!"

Tentacool turned completely around and Gabriel yelled, "Night Shade!"

Tentacool was hit directly in the back, unable to guard itself, and having limited maneuverability on the ground.

Tentacool was smashed down to the ground, yet it got back up, "Another Night Shade!"

"Quick Tentacool! Use your tentacles to jump yourself into the air!"

Tentacool did as commanded, and managed to jump so high that it was even above Gastly.

"Now Bubble Beam!"

It all happened so fast that neither Gabriel nor Gastly could react in time. Gastly was smashed to the ground and Anthony followed up by yelling, "Poison Sting!"

Gastly was hit, and although it didn't manage to do much damage, it kept Gastly on the ground long enough for Anthony to order one more Bubble Beam, which soundly beat Gastly.

"Gastly, return…" Gabriel said, recalling his fallen Pokémon. "Alright, you beat him before, now do it again Cyndaquil!"

"Bubble Beam!" Anthony yelled.

Cyndaquil had barely even come out of his Pokéball when the Bubble Beam it him.

"Wait what? He wasn't even out yet!" Gabriel complained.

"Poison Sting!"

"Cyndaquil, hurry and get up and dodge it!"

Cyndaquil managed to get up in time, yet the Poison Sting hit, and it managed to Poison Cyndaquil.

"Flamethrower!"

"Bubble Beam!"

The two attacks met head on, and they seemed almost perfectly even until Anthony tried the same gamble he used with Houndour, "Jump right up and use Constrict!"

"Smokescreen!"

Cyndaquil let loose the smoke and then jumped up high into the air to avoid Tentacool.

"Quickly use your tentacles to jump into the air! Then Constrict!"

And Tentacool did just that, it jumped into the air, "Quickly use Flamethrower to knock it away!" Gabriel yelled in a panic. Yet all too late. Tentacool had Cyndaquil.

"Now throw him into the ground hard! Then Bubble Beam!"

Tentacool spun in the air and threw Cyndaquil into the ground with all the force it and, before using a Bubble Beam to hit Cyndaquil head on, literally right before Tentacool landed on top of him. The Bubble Beam sent Tentacool high up into the air, and then he landed directly on top of the defeated Cyndaquil.

"Well Gabriel. It looks like I win. Tie up the score board, we're 1-1."

"Shut up, you cheated, you attacked him before he was even out of his Pokéball."

"I never said there were any rules. You simply assumed standard rules were taking hold in that match."

"Yeah but, I didn't know!"

"Quit being a sore loser, now recall your loser Pokémon and let's get going. I'm a man of my word, and since you beat Houndour you can travel with us to Pewter. But only Pewter, no further."

Anthony recalled his Tentacool, and he and his sister began walking northward again.

Gabriel felt his old hatred of Anthony start to take hole again. He recalled Cyndaquil and began to follow Anthony and Nicole.

How could he have been so stupid? If he had been faster with Gastly then he could have beaten Tentacool before he even got the chance to fight Cyndaquil…

Damn his luck. He was going into this first gym with a loss and low morale on his shoulders… not to mention a type disadvantage. Those two had their advantages. Nicole had her Roselia, while Anthony had not only his Tentacool but also his Machop!

All Gabriel had were his Gastly and Cyndaquil… He would have to hope Gastly could win… it was really his only hope…"

And Anthony... oh... Gabriel would get him back, that was for sure. He wouldn't let this embarrassment pass. He looked over towards Anthony and swore to himself that he would beat him, he would never lose to that punk again. He came on this journey to become the best, not to be the second, or third (he looked at Nicole).

Oh he was already anxious to get to his next battle with Anthony, to revel in the victory... He knew Anthony would be talking about this match for a while, that was the type of person he was, always holding things over your head...

Well, Gabriel would certainly have fun slapping that look of his face when he beats him next time...

* * *

**Well guys, I'm sorry for the absolutely massive delay for this chapter. I got caught up in school, and the procrastinated in the spare time I did have. I'll try to be more efficient in the future. :)**


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